Ohio Men’s Basketball Announces 2017 Non-Conference Schedule

ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio men's basketball program unveiled its 13-game 2017 non-conference schedule on Wednesday (Aug. 9), as announced by fourth-year head coach Saul Phillips.

The Bobcats are slated to host eight games at the Convocation Center, make two road trips and play three neutral site games.

Ohio will play in front of its fans for the first time on Nov. 4 with a home exhibition game against Capital. The Bobcats open the regular season on Nov. 11 against Alabama A&M.

Ohio will then fly south to take part in the tenth annual Gildan Charleston Classic, to be played Nov. 16, 17 & 19 at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C. The bracket-format tournament features 12 games over three days. The teams compete once per day, advancing with a victory. The two teams that remain undefeated will face off in the championship game on Sun., Nov. 19.

Ohio will open the Gildan Charleston Classic by taking on Atlantic Coast Conference foe Clemson on Nov. 16 at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The Bobcats and the Tigers will be squaring off for the first time. Clemson is coming off of a 17-win 2016-17 campaign in which it qualified for the National Invitation Tournament. Ohio will then play either Dayton or Hofstra on Nov. 17 at either 7 p.m. ET or 9:30 p.m. ET. The Flyers went 24-8 last year and qualified for the 2017 NCAA Championship field as an at-large bid. The Bobcats are 21-13 all-time against Dayton, but the programs have not faced off since March 9, 1965 -- a 66-65 victory for the Flyers in the NCAA Mideast Regional. Hofstra is coming off of a 15-win campaign. Ohio is 2-0 all-time against the Pride, with the Bobcats producing an 84-70 victory on Dec. 8, 1986. The Bobcats will play for placement in the Gildan Charleston Classic on Nov. 19. Ohio is 0-1 all-time against Auburn, 1-0 against Indiana State, 1-0 against Old Dominion and 0-2 against Temple.

The Bobcats then return to Athens for three-straight home games. Ohio welcomes Mount St. Mary's on Nov. 24. The Mount won 20 games and a Northeast Conference tournament title in 2016-17 and topped New Orleans in the NCAA Championship First Four before bowing out to Villanova in First Round action. For the second year in a row, Ohio and Iona will square off, this time on Nov. 28 at the Convo. The Gaels edged the Bobcats, 79-75, last December in New Rochelle, N.Y. Ohio closes the homestand out by playing host to Coppin State on Dec. 1.

Ohio's first road game of 2017 takes it to College Park, Md., to play Maryland on Dec. 7. In their last meeting with the Terrapins, the Bobcats came away with a 61-55 victory on Dec. 12, 2007.

The Bobcats will head back to the Convo for a matchup with Western Kentucky on Dec. 10. Ohio will be looking to avenge a tough 67-66 setback to the Hilltoppers suffered last December in Bowling Green, Ky.

Ohio's final non-conference road game will be played in a familiar spot as the Bobcats make the trek to Huntington, W. Va., to battle longtime rival Marshall. The Thundering Herd handed the 'Cats their first loss of 2016-17 with a 98-88 win on Nov. 30 in Huntington. This December's contest will mark the 103rd meeting in the series.

The Bobcats close out their 2017 non-conference slate with a pair of home games against Prairie View A&M (Dec. 20) and Northwestern Ohio (Dec. 29).

The 2018 Mid-American Conference schedule will be announced in September.

Ohio is coming off a 20-11 (11-7 MAC) 2016-17 season in which it recorded 20 overall wins for the second year in a row and achieved a second-straight 11-win conference campaign. The Bobcats locked down the No. 2 seed in the 2017 MAC Tournament presented by VisitMyrtleBeach.com for the second year in a row, earning a bye to the quarterfinals. Ohio topped No. 7-seeded Toledo in the quarters, 67-66, before falling to No. 6-seed and eventual tournament champion Kent State, 68-66, in the league semifinals.